Seams Like Love
by KeeBee
Summary: With only his talent and his friends, Grimmjow tries his hardest to make it in the world of fashion. Along the way, the feelings he harbored for his best friend and roomate, Ichigo Kurosaki, come to light and are taken in the best way possible. And whats not to love about that? A yaoi fluff story featuring the greatest couple ever, GrimmIchi!
1. Chapter 1

**Heeeeyyyyy y'all! Hows everybody doin'? **

**Okay so I had this idea for a fluff story just diddyboppin' around in my head and I thought "Who better to share it with than my precious babies?" Coz I love you guys, I really do. Y'all are like, the bestest fans ever. You guys make we wanna keep writing. This is gonna be a complete story. Like 18-20 chapters max.**

**Anyway, this story's gonna be like, fluff central. The feels were too real when I was writing this. I feel, and so does the lovely Patd06, whom I absolutely ADORE, like the GrimmIchi portion of needs more happy times fics. So that's what this is gonna be. If you're lookin' for that angsty, dramatic, raunchy, action packed fic, this is not it. However, there will be some of the good stuff ;)**

**A very special thanks to my new beta, Patd06 for helping me out with this one. She's literally like, perfection. And she's crazy as all hell but that's why I love her. I never thought id get to work with one of my favorite authoresses(is that a word?) but she made my dream come true. Thank you,boo!**

**If you havent seen the characters involved in this story, you should know that this is a GrimmIchi yaoi story. So if you don't like it, don't read it. **

**Enjoy!**

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He was tired. Dog tired. And from the looks of it, he wasn't getting out of the small shop anytime soon. An hour or two at least. He huffed out a breath of agitation, running a hand through his already tousled blue locks.

"Grimmy! We're heading out now. Are you sure you don't wanna come with?" Grimmjow's co-worker, and best friend Szayelaporro, called as he and the others walked towards the exit. With his upcoming project deadline fast approaching, how could he leave now? There was so much work to be done.

"Nah, I'm gonna stay a while longer. You guys go have fun." Grimmjow said, pricking his finger for the umpteenth time due to lack of focus. Normally, he would have jerked his hands back to tend to the small wound. But, seeing as how he was used to it from his many years of sewing, he waved it off as if it hadn't even happened.

"Are you positive? Last time you 'stayed a while longer' you ended up sleeping in the shop and we had to take on whatever you had left. Remember?" His pink haired friend explained, placing a delicate hand on his slender hip. Szayel had always been the one to look out for Grimmjow for as long as he could remember.

"Szay, I'm good. Go on without me."

Grimmjow sighed; another missed outing, another night of disappointing his friends. Szayel never said anything, but he knew that it upset the other that they rarely hung out like they used to. It was hard to deal with, but something that the blue-haired male had come to accept; when you wanted to chase your dream, there were some things you'd have to leave behind.

He sat up from his sewing desk, rubbing his crystalline eyes that had formed less-than-attractive bags under them from the lack of sleep. Three more days. That's all the time he had left before his next show. He knew that buyers from huge companies like Macy's and H&amp;M would be at this show; it had the potential to build him up even more or destroy him completely. It gave him a rush just thinking about the possibilities. Honestly, he was much more excited than he was nervous.

He'd been building up his brand, Azul Sechs, for the past three years since he'd graduated college. Sure, he'd gone to school, but it was mainly to please his parents. All he'd ever wanted to do was make clothes, and he had no shame in that. He'd been sewing since he could read and write, and he made his first piece of clothing, a shirt, when he was eight years old. From then on, he worked hard, mastering his technique and apprenticing in the local seamstress shop until he graduated high school and went to college. His biggest project then was his older sister's prom dress. He was still very proud of that.

Currently, he was working part time at a bar to keep his rent and utilities paid while he worked on his designs, showing them to local boutiques and shops. Yes, he was working hard to make sure that his dream became a success. After all, hardworking pays off in the end, right? It was the sole reason that Grimmjow worked himself into the ground, day in and day out. It'll be worth it in the end, he thought to himself as he finished attaching faux pearl beads onto a burgundy, chiffon shirt collar.

A very loud, very annoying buzzing noise woke Grimmjow nearly three hours later - as his phone screen so politely informed him - his eyes filled with blinding light. It was a call from his roommate. He was sure to hear hell from him.

"Grimmjow! It's nearly 3 o'clock in the morning. Where are you?" The fiery red head yelled into the phone, fully awakening Grimmjow. Why is he even up at nearly three in the morning? said bluenette thought.

"I'm still in the shop. I'll be home in a little while. Make su -"

"You said that two hours ago. Come on, Grimm. You need a good night's sleep and the table top at the shop isn't cutting it. Come home." His roommate insisted in a concern laced voice. Ichigo was always looking out for him, much like Szayel only more often, given the fact that they lived together.

"Ichigo, I'll be fi -" Grimmjow wasn't one for being cut off and Ichigo knew that.

"No, you won't. Be home within the next thirty minutes or I'm coming to get you. And believe you me, it won't be pretty." Grimmjow sighed heavily. He knew full well that Ichigo was right in saying that he needed a good night's rest, although he'd never tell him that. Then the orange head would never let him live it down.

"Okay, fine. You win. I'm packing up now." A smug and thoroughly satisfied chuckle came from the other side of the phone call before Ichigo hung up. Grimmjow rolled his tired eyes as he put away the remnants of his project, taking extra care to not ruin anything, lest he have to start over, which was something he couldn't afford to do. Sluggishly, he pulled the strap to his satchel over his broad shoulders, taking slow but large steps towards the exit due to his height.

The cool morning air was refreshing after a long time spent cooped up in a shop. The bluenette fished around for the keys to his white Nissan Altima...2012 edition. Coz in this day and age, who could afford to buy a car from the current year? The answer to that question was actors, athletes, people with sugar parents and high end strippers - all of which, Grimmjow was not. He tossed the brown bag into the passenger's seat before buckling up and starting the car. He'd decided to drive slow given his current, sleep deprived state.

He arrived home quicker than he had anticipated, which was great because he'd be safe from the wrath of Ichigo. Speaking of Ichigo, he was asleep, face first on the L-shaped portion of their brown leather sectional, donning nothing but a pair of pale green sweatpants when Grimmjow walked in. A mischievous grin crossed Grimmjow's tired features. Having known Ichigo for the better part of 10 years, he knew many things about the young man. Like the fact that he was extremely ticklish on his feet. He set his bag down on the floor beside the couch and crouched down. He reached a finger out and lightly drug his nail down Ichigo's foot, causing the man to giggle in his sleep and move his foot.

"Hehe...hmm." He mumbled in his sleep, curling and uncurling his toes. Grimmjow chuckled lightly and repeated the action, earning a limp kick from the sleeping foot. He could do better. Much better. The blue haired man grabbed his roommates feet and assaulted them with his fingertips. This produced an unmanly shriek from the orangettes mouth. "Ahahaha! St-Stop it, Grimm! I-I mean it!" He laughed, struggling to get his feet from his friends hold. Finally, Ichigo managed to get his left foot close enough to Grimmjow's face to pinch his nose between his big and second toe. Grimmjow promptly let go of his foot after that.

"Aye! That's nasty. I dunno where your feet have been and you go and grab my nose with that monkey's foot?" Ichigo grinned and pressed his foot against Grimmjow's chest, pushing him over in the process.

"No one told you to come in here and touch all on my feet. Foot fetish much?" He joked, watching his friend get off of the floor. "I cooked. Get in there and eat." Ichigo exclaimed, pointing towards the kitchen. Grimmjow nodded and walked towards the kitchen.

"What'd you cook?" He asked, even though he had just taken the lid off of the pot. Ichigo rolled his eyes. His best friend was stupid sometimes.

"Your favorite ramen." The shirtless young man said, laying back down on the couch. He could practically hear Grimmjow's grin.

"Extra pork and bok choy?" Grimmjow asked, poking around in the pot before turning the stove on. The ramen was warm but Grimmjow was a "burn your tongue on your food and suck in air while you chew" kind of person, so it had to be a lot hotter for him.

"Wouldn't be your favorite without it, right?" Ah, Ichigo knew him so well. As he should, considering the many years of friendship between the two. Though, Grimmjow had come to know many things about his friend that even the orange head himself didn't know. One could say that Grimmjow held a certain fondness for Ichigo.

_He and Ichigo had met when they were they were thirteen, Ichigo being sixteen days older than Grimmjow. Though his charismatic and slightly childlike personality showed little to no signs of the supposed maturity that he tried to hold over the younger boy. Ichigo had seen Grimmjow from his window, sketching new clothing designs. The spunky preteen tossed a discarded bolt from a project he had been working on at Grimmjow's window, startling him at first. He got up from his desk and walked the short distance out to his mini- terrace, which was fairly close to Ichigo's neighboring apartment._

_"What're you drawing?" Ichigo asked, trying to peer through Grimmjow's window with no such luck. The blue haired boy stepped outside of his room and slide the door closed, effectively blocking Ichigo's view._

_"None of your business." He answered, taking a seat on the terrace floor. He sighed and took a deep, refreshing breath. He loved the smell of summer air._

_"Aw, come on! I'll show you what I'm working on if you'll show me what you're drawing." Ichigo bargained, face splitting into a wide grin. Grimmjow chewed on his bottom lip in deep thought. What if he laughed at him? What if he thought he was weird? All of these thoughts came flooding to the pre-teens mind. But they left as quickly as they came because Ichigo had climbed over the rails and on to Grimmjow's little area and displayed a small robot to the timid boy._

_"It's for my robotics club. It's not finished yet but when it is, it'll move and pick stuff up. Pretty cool, right?" Said the orange haired youth, looking expectantly at young Grimmjow. The blunet nodded and stood up, walking towards the door to his room. Ichigo followed behind him, whether Grimmjow wanted him to or not. "You've got a really cool room. It's so big. And clean too. Mine's a mess." He said as he plopped down on Grimmjow's bed, uninvited. The younger boy visibly bristled at this. _How could he just make himself comfortable? No matter, he'd be gone soon_. Grimmjow walked towards his desk and took his sketchbook into his arms and walked back to the boy seated on his bed._

_"Promise you won't laugh?" The timid boy asked, sitting on the bed next to Ichigo who nodded and extended his pinky. This confused Grimmjow. He hadn't ever seen someone do that with their finger before. Poor boy didn't have many friends because he always felt different and unwanted by children his age. Ichigo grinned and hooked his baby finger around Grimmjow's, squeezing it a bit. His face flushed a bright pink and he turned away, embarrassed._

_"I pinky promise I won't laugh. If I do, you can go smash my robot. Okay?" He beamed, waiting for Grimmjow to reveal his work. Shyly, the young boy set the sketchbook in his lap and opened it to the first page. Ichigo's eyes widened as he studied the page. After a few minutes, Grimmjow handed the book over to Ichigo so that he could have a better look. Grimmjow had never shown this to anyone. Not even his dad. Yet here he was, letting this strange boy see everything. Ichigo said nothing as he looked and Grimmjow was glad that he didn't. He would be so embarrassed. The younger boy studied Ichigo's calm face, checking for any sign of emotion. "These are awesome!" The oranget exclaimed suddenly, making Grimmjow gasp and place his hand on his chest. He nearly scared the life out of him. It then dawned on him. He liked his designs. He liked them!_

_"Y-You...You like them?" Grimmjow asked, not daring to look in the other boy's eyes, lest he'd be even more embarrassed. Ichigo nodded quickly, taking another look at the sketchbook before closing it. Grimmjow was ecstatic. So happy that he could have hugged the boy if he wasn't so shy._

_"When you make new ones, can I see them?" Grimmjow had never nodded so quickly in his life. With that, Ichigo laid back on Grimmjow's bed and stared at the ceiling. "Can I stay the night?" He asked, shocking Grimmjow. They had just met. Why so sudden? But nevertheless, Grimmjow let him stay. He would tell his father later. He just made a new friend._

"Food's burning." Ichigo said calmly from the kitchen island, mouth pulled up into a smirk. Grimmjows blue eyes widened in shock as he quickly turned the stove off and moved the pot off of the stove eye, spilling a large amount of the broth on his hand in the process.

"Shit! Fuck! Son of a bitch, that's hot!" He shouted uncharacteristically. He wasn't one to use a lot of profanity. Only when it was needed. And right now, as he ran his burning hand under the cold sink water, it was completely necessary. His best friend just laughed and made his way to the fridge pulling out..._a bottle of mustard?_ Grimmjow thought.

"Gimme your hand." The chocolate eyed man stated, reaching for his friends wounded appendage. Grimmjow shook his head and pulled his hand from Ichigo's reach. "I said gimme your damn hand." Ichigo rolled his eyes and snatched the hand over to him as he uncapped the mustard and squirted a generous amount on Grimmjows hand. Almost instantly, the pain subsided. "Mustard helps take away the sting and in a little while, it'll be like you never even burned yourself." Ichigo cradled his friend's hand as he explained the seemingly "magical" properties of yellow mustard. All the while, Grimmjow was admiring Ichigos calm face and gentle voice. He always found Ichigo to be attractive but now even more so, seeing as how he looked so adorable tending to his needs. "Stop starin' at me like that. You're making me nervous, ya little weirdo," Ichigo mumbled, letting go of his roommates hand.

"Wh-What?" Grimmjow stammered, looking away with a flushed pink face and matching ears. Ichigo chuckled lightly and patted the top of his head before going to fix a bowl for the blue haired dork.

"Let that dry and you should be good to go." He explained as he scooped noodles into the bowl and ladled in some broth. He even picked out a few extra pieces of pork.

"Thanks." Grimmjow muttered as Ichigo set the bowl down in front of him. He shook his head and smiled.

"That's what friends are for, right?" A head of blue hair moved along with a nod. Although, being called a friend stung a bit and Grimmjow couldn't figure out why. Maybe he was just tired. _Yeah, that's it. I'm tired._ He thought as he picked his chopsticks up and began eating. He hadn't even noticed that his friend had fixed himself a bowl and seated himself across the island. Grimmjow hummed in appreciation as he loudly slurped his noodles. "You're gross, you know that?" Ichigo piped up, gently blowing on his food, though his face showed no actual signs of disgust. Grimmjow rolled his eyes and continued to slurp even louder, just to annoy the other man. When he wasn't paying attention, Ichigo swiped a piece of pork from his bowl and popped it into his mouth.

"What the heck, man?" Grimmjow pouted, staring at the space where his beloved pork piece used to be. Ichigo just laughed and continued to eat. Just as the blue haired man thought that the little thief wasn't paying attention, he reached to steal a piece from his bowl as revenge, only to have a mustard covered hand be popped none too gently.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot." Ichigo fretted in realization, reaching to coddle his friends hand. Grimmjow just shook his head. He was so cute when he was worried. Deciding to play around a bit, Grimmjow pulled his hand from Ichigos grasp and turned away from him.

"That actually hurt. Why would you do that?" He mumbled, looking at Ichigo with misty crystalline blue eyes, averting them when they locked with honey brown. Grimmjow knew full well that Ichigo was sensitive to other people's feelings and this time would be no different. He almost felt bad for it.

"Grimm, I'm really sorry. " Ichigo apologized, walking around the island to face Grimmjow, who turned away from him. "I didn't mean it." He explained, trying to get a look at his friend's face. Grimmjow made sure to hide his face well or else Ichigo would have seen that he wasn't crying, but laughing. "Grimmjow, I said I was sorry. Gimme your hand." He said, soft brown eyes getting bleary as he reached out for his friends hand. Finally, after Grimmjow heard Ichigo sniffling, he turned around to find him wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He had taken it a bit too far.

"Ichigo, look at me. I'm okay. I was just kidding. See?" He admitted, displaying his hand to Ichigo. He then heard Ichigo mumbled something. "What? What'd you say?" He asked. Instead of a verbal answer, Ichigo smeared the mustard from his finger tips on to Grimmjow's nose, forehead and cheeks.

"Gotcha!" Ichigo grinned, taking pride in the baffled look on his friend's face. He had gotten him and he got him good. Instead of being slightly upset like Ichigo assumed Grimmjow would be, he laughed and wiped the mustard from his nose.

"Yeah, you got me." He smiled, flashing Ichigo a toothy, pearly white smile. "And I got this piece of pork from your bowl." He cackled, swiping yet another piece of meat from Ichigo's bowl with a triumphant smile. Ichigo grinned and rolled his eyes.

"You'd better get over to that pot and gimme my pork back with your thieving self. The blue haired man chuckled and got up from his stool to retrieve replacements for the food he had taken.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." He smiled. Things were often like this between the two of them. At times, he hoped for more but he decided against it. Their relationship was great how it was. Why complicate it?

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Soooo did you guys like it? Review and lemme know! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm a slacker, I know. I also get into a lot of trouble pretty often, so there's that lol. Anyway, I'm workin' on gettin' everything done. I've got hella free time but I can't sit still and write. It's alright though, I can do this.**

**Special thanks to my bae-ta, Patd06, I luhh yhu. Thank you so much! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Wish I did, but I don't.**

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They had fallen asleep on the couch together again after the small food fight they had in the living room. This was completely normal for the flamboyant haired duo. Ichigo yawned and rubbed the rheum from his eyes, cringing at the gross substance that formed in the corners of his eyes while he slept. He groaned and turned over, burying his face in his friend's broad chest. A small blush spread over the freckled bridge of Ichigo's nose. Being so close to his best friend never failed to fluster the young man. Ichigo inhaled deeply, willing away his nerves. Or at least he tried. When he took that deep breath, his nose was filled with Grimmjow's natural baby powdery scent, making him feel all light-headed and giddy.

_Grimm smells like a baby. _Ichigo thought with a sweet smile. A quiet groan slipped from the younger mans lips, startling the latter. Ichigo stayed still as he watched Grimmjow struggle to wake up, blue eyes blinking furiously before staying closed. Even though Grimmjow had often worked late, he never failed to wake up at the crack of dawn, even on days that he didn't work at all. A wide smile spread across the redhead's face as he thought about how hard his best friend worked. He often thought that Grimmjow should take some time off. Knowing Grimmjow as well as he did, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, if at all.

"Ichi, make coffee." The man yawned, covering his mouth so as not to breathe his flaming hot, dragon like morning breath on his friend. Ichigo raised an orange eyebrow as he poked the sleeping man on the couch.

"Nuh-uh. I cooked dinner for your ass last night," he stated, repeatedly poking Grimmjow until he sat up. His powder blue hair was tangled and unruly, there were imprints on his face, and his deep blue eyes were so wide, Ichigo thought they might have popped out of the man's head. Ah yes, his best friend was so cute when he woke up in the morning. With a quick lick of his thumb, Ichigo sat up and wiped away the drool in the corner of Grimmjow's mouth, somehow missing the blush that spread across the man's face. Grimmjow poked his lips out in a small pout before gently swatting Ichigo's hand away.

"Ya can't clean drool with saliva. It ain't sanitary," he grumbled, begrudgingly dragging himself to the kitchen with Ichigo on his heels. Ichigo hopped up in one of the chairs behind the counter and watched his roommate root around the pantry for the coffee grounds, laughing when the sleepy man nearly tripped over his own feet.

"So?" Ichigo grinned. "It's not on your face anymore, is it?" Grimmjow shook his head as he scooped coffee grounds into the machine. "Then as far as I'm concerned, it's clean." Grimmjow chuckled lightly, as he set two mugs on the counter before grabbing a rather large cereal bowl from the cabinet.

"You want some cereal?" He asked as he padded into the pantry again, scanning their selection. His eyes lit up as he pulled a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch from the top shelf. It was, and always will be, Grimmjow's favorite breakfast cereal. Ichigo frowned when he set the box on the counter.

"Yeah, but I'm not eating that Cardboard Toast Crunch," he quipped, getting up from the chair and fetching a box of Honey Nut Cheerios for himself. When he came back, Grimmjow had his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised.

"Did you just diss my cereal?" He asked, turning away from his friend as he prepared his bowl. Ichigo smirked as he grabbed himself a bowl.

"I did, I did." Ichigo grinned, waiting for Grimmjow to finish up with the milk. Normally, Grimmjow would just hand the milk right over to his friend after using it, but since he decided to insult his favorite cereal, he wasn't giving it up.

"Looks like there's no milk left for you then," Grimmjow stated, shaking the half full container before darting out of the kitchen. Ichigo tried to be upset with the man, he really did. But when he acted so cute and childish, he couldn't help but smile as he chased after him.

"Gimme the damn milk, Grimm!" Ichigo called from the other side of the couch with little heat. The grin that stretched Grimmjow's lips nearly took up the whole lower half of the man's face. He shook the milk container, agitating Ichigo 'cause no one wants to eat cereal with milk that's been shaken up. It's all bubbles.

"Take back what you said about the cereal," he haggled, grinning like a maniac.

"Why would I take back the truth? That cereal is gross, Grimm." Grimmjow frowned deeply, hanging his head in defeat as he rounded the couch and walked back into the kitchen, Ichigo tailing after him, grinning in triumph.

"You're so mean sometimes." Grimmjow pouted, reluctantly handing the milk to his best friend. Ichigo frowned deeply at the milk container like it had personally wronged him. This made Grimmjow smile. Ichigo was so cute sometimes.

"It's all bubbles now, Grimm." The redhead pouted as he poured the frothy liquid into his cereal. The younger man laughed loudly as he turned to face the coffee maker, pouring some into their respective mugs. For Christmas, Grimmjow's aunt had gotten them Cookie Monster and Elmo mugs. They had done the opposite of what she wanted and swapped the colors.

"Serves you right for insulting the greatest cereal known to man." Ichigo rolled his big brown eyes and scooped up a big spoonful of Honey Nut Cheerios. Though he tried to look defeated, his wide grin betrayed him.

**XXXX**

"Grimm, can you come in here please?" Ichigo wailed from upstairs. Grimmjow cocked a blue brow, looking up from the book he had been reading. If Ichigo hadn't called for him he wouldn't have torn his eyes away from the words on page 150 of Zane's _The Heat Seekers. _Erotic novels - tasteful erotic novels - had been one of Grimmjow's guilty pleasures, despite his sheepish demeanor. None of that _50 Shades of Bullshit_...er _Grey _crap_. _With a heavy sigh, he slipped his bookmark between the pages and set it aside as he got up from the couch.

"Yeah, whatcha need?" The younger man inquired as he popped his head into the redhead's room. Clad in nothing but tight green boxer briefs and a white towel draped over his shoulders, Ichigo stood in front of his closet with a frown marring his youthful face. Though Grimmjow had seen the other man naked on a near daily basis, Ichigo's nudity never failed to bring heat to the blue eyed man's face and butterflies to his stomach.

"Help me pick out my clothes?" Ichigo asked with pleading chocolate eyes. "Please?" He added, lifting the towel from his shoulders to his head as he dried his hair. Ichigo knew good and well that whenever he begged the younger man for anything and batted those pretty little orange lashes that he would comply, and he used it to his full advantage every time. _The little punk._ Chuckling softly the whole way to the closet, Grimmjow peered inside the closet, frowning immediately. He could not believe his eyes. His eyebrow twitched.

"Ichigo Jin Kurosaki, what the hell is this?" The man asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he eyed his best friend in disappointment. Clothes practically spewed from the closet in a mountainous pile of pilfered chaos. Utterly confused, Ichigo arched a brow.

"What's what?" He asked quizzically, unsure of what his friend was getting at. As far as Ichigo could tell, nothing was wrong. The azure eyed man sighed.

"When's the last time you cleaned out your closet?" Grimmjow questioned, squatting down to heft a pile of clothes out of the closet and toss them on the bed behind them. How could his friend live like this? Ichigo laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"I dunno. . .the last time we went shopping. . .a month or two ago." He mumbled the last part in hopes that the other man didn't hear him. Too bad for Ichigo, though, because Grimmjow had perfect hearing.

"Two. . .two months. Man, that's nasty." Grimmjow sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. What was he going to do with him? "How do you even know what's clean and what's dirty?"

"Wel-"

"If you tell me you do a sniff test, I'm gonna drown you in the air." Ichigo erupted into a fit of laughter lighthearted laughed, causing Grimmjow to dissolve into laughter as well.

"I'll clean it when I get home." Ichigo declared after their bout of laughter.

"You and I both know you won't. You hate folding clothes." Grimmjow teased, earning a shirt to the face. Thank the stars it was clean. He rose from the bed and padded back to the closet to flip through the clothes on the hangers. Grimmjow did not feel comfortable with choosing clothes from that pile of who-knows-what's-clean. Ichigo hoarded clothing and although he had a wide array of things to choose from, he always opted to wear jeans and t-shirts. Grimmjow tsked in disappointment. The other man had no idea how attractive he could be if he'd just put some effort into himself. Not that he wasn't stunning already but still. "When'd you get this sweater?" He asked as he pulled the garment from the closet. Ichigo eyed the piece.

The aforementioned sweater had been a gift from Ichigo's uncle, Ryūken. Though the high collared, black cashmere sweater was nice, he had never worn it. He hadn't needed to. Ichigo tilted his head slightly.

"Uncle Ryū got it for me a year or two ago, I think." Soft brown eyes watched curiously as his closet was rifled through. His vision suddenly went dark when his clothes were flung at him. With a huff, he pulled them from his face and frowned at his grinning friend. "You're an ass." Ichigo stated, lips pursed in a slight pout.

"And you're messy. Now get dressed." Grimmjow ordered, turning to pull more and more clothes from the shamefully messy closet. It would take him all day to get that mess situated. He would have to wash everything that was on the closet's floor because there was no way in hell he would do a sniff test to see what was clean and what needed to be burned.

Washed.

_Washed _is what he meant. Color coordinating all of the clothes would be a bitch to do, what with the array of colors in Ichigo's wardrobe. Even though Ichigo hadn't asked him to clean his closet for him, Grimmjow felt compelled to do so. Call it OCD but this much disorder in one small space really got under the man's skin. He just didn't understand how this didn't both-

"Grimm." The soft voice called, pulling the designer from his inner ramblings. The sight he was greeted with made his face heat up and his heart beat more rapidly than usual. There stood his best friend, dressed in that fitted long sleeved sweater that clung to him like a second skin and khaki not-too-skinny skinny jeans and bare feet. "Is it okay?"

He felt ridiculously uncomfortable. He supposed he looked nice, the outfit was great but that's because Grimmjow picked it out. Still though, that didn't quell his discomfort. It was official; he had moved out of his comfort zone. To make matters worse, Grimmjow was staring at him like he had just given birth to baby Jesus and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. The look in his friends eyes was a mix of too many emotions for Ichigo to decipher.

"You look good." Grimmjow finally said after swallowing the thick lump in his throat. Had someone turned on the heat in the apartment?

"Really? 'Cause I feel weird. You know power dressing isn't really my thing." Ichigo stated, pulling at the hem of the sweater before pulling the collar up too far for Grimmjow's liking. With a heavy sigh, the blue haired man stood to his full height and walked over to his friend. Without a word, he reached for Ichigo's collar, knuckles lightly grazing the underside of Ichigo's jaw, and folded it down a bit. He tried his hardest not to read into the slight hitch in Ichigo's breathing when their skin touched. If Ichigo wasn't going to say anything, neither would he.

"Can I wear my Converse?" Ichigo questioned, turning around not only to retrieve his shoes, but to hide the severe blush that crept up his neck and spread to his face and ears. The look that Grimmjow had given him when he was adjusting his collar was far too much for Ichigo to handle so early in the morning. Add the gentle brush of skin that made his insides turn to goo and he was done for.

"No ya can't." Grimmjow answered with a frown. Converse would ruin the whole look.

He searched the floor of the closet for a suitable pair of shoes to complete the ensemble and judging by Ichigo's collection of footwear, that would prove to be difficult.

"I can practically hear you dissing my shoes in your head, you know." Ichigo chided playfully, moving to crouch down beside his friend. He didn't see an issue with wearing Converse with everything; they were stylish and comfortable. "I think there's some shoes in that box way in the back." Ichigo stated, pointing to the far left of the closet. Grimmjow quirked a meditative brow at this and stared into the closet before reaching for the shoebox. The box itself was in great condition considering it had been in Ichigo's war-like closet. A wide grin spread across the younger man's face as he removed the lid. Nice.

Why hadn't he worn these already? When did he even get them?

The pair of black GBX Bowery Boots were perfect. Grimmjow looked over at Ichigo with that silly grin on his youthful face and thrust the box into his hands. Ichigo tried his hardest not to laugh at his friend's expression, he really did. But he failed miserably. With a laugh and a shake of his head, Ichigo stood to grab a pair of socks and sat on the bed's edge to put the shoes on.

"Stand." Grimmjow instructed after Ichigo tied the laces. The older man did as he was told and stood, suddenly feeling self conscious under Grimmjow's blue eyed scrutiny. The blue haired designer circled Ichigo, adjusting the hem of his sweater here and there, fussing with the mop of orange hair atop the man's head. "Where's that watch I got you?" He asked, thin pointer finger on his chin as he studied Ichigo.

"In the box on my dresser." Ichigo stated, pointing towards the white box on the cluttered dresser. Grimmjow nodded and made his way over, noticing the copious amount of clutter. He sighed. He would have to fix that too. The large white box had been pushed aside, away from everything else. Like it had been put in a special place so that it would not get lost amidst the sea of stuff. Grimmjow lifted the box and opened the lid, careful not to let it slip and hit the floor. It would be fine but he didn't think that Ichigo would appreciate him dropping his things. Watch in hand, he padded back over to Ichigo and asked him to extend his preferred-left-wrist. As he fastened the watch, he couldn't help but take notice of Ichigo's silence.

"There, all done." He smiled, looking up to face his friend. Brown eyes stared back at him before a smile spread across the man's face.

"Thanks,Grimm." said Ichigo with a wide, childlike smile. Thin but strong arms wrapped around Grimmjow's mid section and squeezed tightly. Before the younger man had any time to properly reciprocate the embrace, the arms and the warmth that accompanied them was gone.

Darn.

"As much as I don't feel like going to work today, I've gotta get going." Ichigo sighed as he went to retrieve his man bag. At least, that's what he called it. Apparently, according to Grimmjow, it was called a satchel. As if that would stop the oranget from calling it a man bag. He checked the contents of his bag, making sure he had his phone, his keys and headphones. Without his headphones, he'd be so lost and bored throughout the day. Music was the only thing that kept him sane at work. "See ya when I get home." He smiled as he waved goodbye to his friend, earning a bone melting smile. With the door securely closed behind him, Ichigo placed his hand on his chest and sighed heavily. _Unrequited love, why art thou so cruel to me?_

**XXXX**

"Kurosaki, how goes it?" His lanky colleague, Nnoitra, greeted as he entered the back of Hōgyoku Electronics after swiping his key card. Ichigo smiled brightly.

He had always been fond of Nnoitra. Despite the man's ever-present, surly, don't-fuck-with-me expression, he was actually a kind person, even with his relentless teasing. Unless of course, he didn't like you in which case you faced the Wrath of Jiruga on a daily basis.

"It goes well, Nnoi." Ichigo replied. "Did Renji debug the program for the Gotei project yet?" Nnoitra shook his head, long ebony hair swaying with the action as they walked down the hall to their designated lab. Nnoitra noted the extra spring in the man's step but said nothing of it.

"Nah, 'member his daughter was born the other day?" He asked. "Boss let him take a week off to be with his family." Ah yes, he remembered now. Renji had talked nonstop about the birth of his first child. It was endearing. Apparently, the man had always wanted a family since he had been orphaned at the age of six. He thought it would be impossible to start a family since he was homosexual and as we all know, men can't have babies. He and his husband had strongly considered adoption but the universe had been on his side when his husband's sister had offered to be a surrogate for the couple. The redhead had been so ecstatic he had cried. Like Ichigo said before, it was endearing.

"Good for Renji." Ichigo beamed as he set his bag down upon entering the lab. A blond head perked up at their arrival.

"What's got you smiling so hard, GoGo?" The blond asked, honey eyes raking over the oranget's lithe form. He was looking _especially_ nice today, and not just in the clothes sense. He was practically _glowing_. The oranget tilted his head slightly. Nnoitra snickered from the other side of the lab as he ran over the list of modifications that needed to be made to their latest program.

"I was wonderin' the same thing." He commented, not taking his eye off of the paper. Even though he only had one eye and his job required great attention to detail, that never stopped the tall man from doing exceptional work.

"Did you get some ass?" Shinji asked teasingly, grinning like the fool that he was. Ichigo's face burned bright. The answer to that question was no, but whenever the brown eyed man was faced with a question like that, he couldn't help but be embarrassed. He supposed his reason for being overly happy was Grimmjow. Like hell he'd tell these two that. Nnoitra barked out a laugh and slapped his knee.

"I knew it! Kurosaki's a regular ass pirate, plunderin' booty all over the island." Both he and Shinji didn't contain their laughter and couldn't even if they wanted to. He should have been used to their teasing by now, he really should have. But he wasn't.

"Who was she?" Shinji questioned after he had seized his laughter. Teasing the young man was so much fun. Especially when those doe eyes grew larger and his faced lived up to his name.

"No one." Ichigo stated calmly as he typed in his log in information. _What makes him so sure it's a girl? _He wondered. Couldn't he just be happy without it being the result of sex?

"Okay then who was _he_?" The one eyed engineer asked. The had known early on that Ichigo was bisexual and they used every chance they got to exploit that knowledge. _Fuckers_. "I bet it's that blue haired bestie of yours, huh?"

"It is _not_!" Ichigo screeched, eyes wide and embarrassed. He couldn't catch a break, could he?

"Totally is." The blonde teased.

* * *

Reviews are greatly appreciated :)


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